Wrench



July 27, 19216. 1,593,588

F. MOORE WRENCH Filed April 22, l1924 WJ I6 ,3.514 .'Z

Patented July 27, lQ,

"if l; F l Q rniinig negen? or erigrssn'nen, rnnnsrrvnnrn, Assieme To rrrrsnuneir MALLE- erlernen sonriente 'or 'rrrrsnURe-n, PENnsrLvANin, n conronnron 'or Wannen.

Application filed April 22, 1924. Serial No. 708,179.

The present invention relates particularly to Wrenches, and` more particularly to Wrenches adapted to be utilized for the gripping and turning ot circular objects. f

6 It has heretofore been proposed to construct Wrenches ot the general charac-ter to which 'this invention relates embodying a iixed gripping jaw and arotatable gripping Jaw tending -to increase `its bite kin accordance With the pressure exerted to "effect turning. One oftheV objects ofthe present invention is to improve a Wrench of this type by providing means copperating With the rotat able gripping element in such manner asv to limit the possible depth of penetration oiE the grippingteeth provided thereonandalso Vto i'ncrease'the area of engagement between the yWrench and the'. article being gripped to thereby distribute the load over a ygreater surface.

The invention also has for one of its objects the constructiono a Wrench which may be leasily produced largely from sheet metal, thereby facilitating themanuiacture thereof and decreasing the cost ot pro-duo tion.` In the accompanying drawings, there is shown,-` for purposes ot'illustration only, one form of wrench constructed in accordance With the present invention, it being understood'that the drawings do not deline .the limits ot myinvention, it being `contemplated ythat changes in the construction and operation disclosed therein may be made Without departing from the spirit oi the invention o-r scope Aof my broader claims.l

ln theldrawingsz-e kFigure l is a side elevation of a Wrench embodying the present invent-ion;

Figure-2 is a View, similar to Figure l, illustrating a portion of the ,Wrench insection;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view on theiline III-lll of Figure 2, V-loolring in t Athe direction of thearrows;

lFigure. 4l is a transverse sectional View ontlie line I-V--IV of: Figure 2,--lookingin the direction of the arrows; w .Figure v 5 is a detail View of a portion of the shank; .Figure 6 is a detail view of the lined grip- Riegler;

bar 5 along each ledge Figure 7 is a perspective View of the follower for compressing the spring; and Figure 8 is a transverse sectional view on the linev VIH-VH1 of igure 2. i

in accordance with the present invention, there may be vprovided a shank 2 constructed preferably ofY sheet metal and shaped to provide a handle por-tion 3 orn substantially'oval section, as illustrated clearlyi'in Figure 8; and a jaw-receiving portion t of substantially tgl-shaped cross-section, as clearlyillustrated in Figure fi. The shank may conveniently be formed from' a single "piece" of sheet metal and shaped to provide aracl of the jaw-receiving portion. v'

Mounted between the sides of the jawreceiving portion is a tlxed'jaiv 6 Whichniay be suitablysecured in position as .by Welding or brazing, the jaw preferably being shaped in such mannery as to effectively co-operate with an article A 4having a curved surface, as illustrated in Figure l. A pin or rivet" 7 maybe used to initially center the jaw.

Mounted to slide longitudinally along' the portion i of the shank?J is a lJ-shaped'sleeve '8 which is preferably so Ashaped asto sub stantially contorni yto the contour-'ot `the portion lot the shank 2 with which it cooperates. The'sides 9 oi the sleeve are entended to torni guard portions adapted 'to receive therebetweena rotatable ugripping element l0 yhaving its'periphery provided with a series ot gripping teeth'll which ei;- tend a slight distance beyond the guards adjacent the janY 6. The gripping element l0 is rotatably secured in positiontby a" suitable piii or bolt'lQ and is provided' preferably on each side thereof with a pinion 13 which may be formed either integrally with the movable grippingelement cr secured thereto in any desired manner to provide a substantially unitary construction. The gripping element l0 is preferably ofl' such Width that it may freely rotate'between the sides of the jaw-receiving portion, as clearly illustrated in TFigures 2 and 3, and the pinions 13 are adapted to engage the respective rack bars 5 on the faces of the portion fi oit' the shank 2. By reason of thisconstruction, it will be apparent that, b'y'merely gripping the sleeve @and moving the same longitudif Cil nally of the shank, the distance between the gripping elements may be varied and, at the saine time, the element 10 will be rotateoI to bring ditierent portions of its periphery into operative gripping position for difierent sized articles to be gripped. In this manner, wear on the rotatable gripping element is distributed throughout its entire periphery and the length of life of the wrench is correspondingly increased.

For normally urging the sleeve S and its associated parts into position to engage an article between the gripping elements, there is provided a spring 14 encircling a guide rod 15 carried at one end by a pin 16 etttending through the handle portion of the shank, and at its opposite end engaging a project ion 1T on a follower 1S secured to the sleeve. This follower is so shaped that it may embrace the sides of the sleeve S, and as clearly illustrated in Figure 7, the projection 17 may be formed with an opening 19 for receiving the rod 15. The mounting of the rod 15 is such that it may move about the pin 1G, thereby accommodating itself to any slight irregularities in construction and permit movement of the sleeve without any binding action.

In operation, the elements will be separated the required distance to receive an article to be gripped therebetween by moving the sleeve 8 against the action of the spring 14. Immediately upon releasing the sleeve, the spring will urge the element 10 toward the fixed jaw to etiect engagement with the article on substantially diametrically opposite sides thereof. As the wrench is operated in the direction indicated by the arrow B in Figure 1, to eifect rotation of the article in a clockwise direction, the gripping elev ment 10 will tend to rotate in a clockwise direction as viewed in this figure, thereby increasing the biting action exerted on the article by the wrench.

IVith some articles such as pipe having a thin wall, the action of the teeth on the gripping element 10 may be such that, if rincontrolled, they will objectionably penetrate or disfigure the surface of the article. This objectionable tendency of the wrench is successfully overcome inthe present invention by the provision of the guards 9, which come into engagement with the article being grippcd after the teeth on the rotatable gripping element have penetrated thel surface of the article a distance corresponding to their projection beyond the periphery of the guards, as clearly shown in Figures 1 and .2. This engagement of the guards on opposite sides of the gripping element 10 prevents further penetration of the teeth and, at the same time, increases theelfective gripping area of the movable gripping element, from the outer face of one guard 9 to the outer face of the other guard (see Fig. 3),

thereby distributing the load over a greater portion of the article. This operation has been found to be highly advantageous.

Preferably, the guard portions 9 are so shaped that they project bevond the nia'jor portion of the periphery of the element it), except at the point of contact adjacent the jaw 6, thereby serving to shield and protect the teeth of the same. This may be accomplished by mounting the movable grip.A ping element eccentrically with respect to the guards, or by cutting away a portion of the guards to permit the desired projection of the comparatively small portion of the movable gripping element at the point of contact.

The advantages of the present invention arise from the provision of a wrench having a movable gripping element and a .fixer gripping element with means co-operating with one of the gripping elements to modify the action thereof.

Further advantages of the present invention arise from the provision of a wrench constructed largely of sheet metal, whereby the manufacture thereof is facilitated.

I claim 1. In la wrench, a shank having a rack bar, a sleeve movable along said shank, a pinion journaled in said sleeve and meshing with said rack bar, a gripping element movable with said pinion, and a non-rotatable guard co-operat-ing with said gripping element, substantially as described.

2. In a wrench, a shank having a rack bar, a sleeve movable along said shank, a pinion journaled in said sleeve and meshing with said rack bar, and a gripping element carried by said pinion, said sleeve co-operatino' with said gripping element to limit the extent of penetration of said gripping element into the article being gripped, and provide non-rotatable engaging surfaces, substantially as described.

3. In a wrench, a shank having a rack bar, a sleeve movable along said shank. a pinion journaled in said sleeve and meshing with said rack bar, and a gripping element carried by said pinion, said sleeve extending on opposite sides of the gripping element and adapted to engage the article being gripped under predetermined conditions of operation of the wrench, on opposite sides of the gripping element, substantially as described.

4. In a wrench, a shank comprising a handle portion and a j aw receiving portion, said jaw receiving portion being of substantially U-shape in cross-section and adapted to receive a. gripliing jaw between the sides thereof, a sleeve embracing said jaw receiving portion, a rotatable gripping element carried by said sleeve, and non-rotatable means ee-operating with said rotatable gripping element and movable therewith for increasing the effective Contact area with the article being gripped under predetermined conditions of operation, substantially es described.

5. In a Wrench, a handle portion having a fixed jaw carried thereby, e longitudinally movable jaw cti-operating therewith, said last jaw being mounted for rotation and provided With st series of gripping teeth, and non-rotatable Ineens (3o-operating with said element for limiting'. the effective penetration of said teeth into the article being gripped, substantially as described.

FRANK MOORE. 

